Ruth Marcus commentary: Obama has to be deal-maker in chief

5:12 PM,
Mar. 18, 2013

Written by

Ruth Marcus

When it comes to Republicans, President Obama sees himself as a kind of reverse Sally Field: They don't like him. They really, really, don't like him.

Judging by the junior high school behavior of House members who snarkily live-tweeted the president's closed-door meeting Wednesday, this seems a rather accurate assessment.

"Stuck getting Obama 'charm offensive' right now when we should be talking about balanced budget ? or is it 'offensive charm'?" tweeted Arizona Republican Matt Salmon, as chronicled by Slate's David Weigel. ...